Lullaby
by angelsinstead
Summary: Professor Rick Payne and his wife Kate are struggling to have a baby. Can Melinda help make their dreams come true?
1. Chapter 1

"She doesn't want me. She just wants my sperm," Rick complained.

"What did you just say?" Melinda asked.

She was sitting at Professor Payne's desk at the university with papers strewn all around her. As usual, they were on one of their famous ghost hunts. But obviously, Rick had something else on his mind.

"Kate," he said. "She just wants a baby."

"Really?" Melinda asked, because this was the first she had heard of this. Rick didn't usually talk about his wife or their love life.

"Yeah," he said with a heavy sigh. "We can't get pregnant. That's all she thinks about day and night. Having a baby. She made an appointment at the fertility clinic. To have my sperm tested."

"How did that go?" Melinda asked, raising one eye brow.

"Do you really want to hear all the details?" he said with a chuckle. "Well, I went into this little room. I had this little cup. And then I had this not so small orgasm."

Melinda was breathless, staring into his blue eyes. "Ohhh my God," she finally said.

"Well, you did ask."

"Uhhh yeah, I did. Thanks for sharing... ummm... all the wild... and very intimate details. What I meant though was, how did the tests turn out?"

"Just fine," said Rick. "Nothing wrong with my sperm. I have excellent little swimmers."

"Ohhh... okay. So they are gonna test Kate now?"

"They already did. She isn't producing eggs. The doctor at the clinic says it's almost impossible," Rick replied. "But she still wants a baby."

"And you don't?"

Once again, Rick let out a heavy sigh. "I'm selfish," he said. "Maybe I just want my wife to myself."

"Maybe she doesn't have a lot of time. If she has viable eggs, she may have a very small window of opportunity," Melinda spoke. "Maybe you should go with it. It may be your only chance to become parents."

"Maybe," Rick said. "Can we talk about ghosts now? Something normal again?"

"You're the one who brought up your sperm," Melinda pointed out.

Rick leaned over Melinda and smirked. He didn't know what had possessed him to bring up he and Kate's fertility problems in the first place. What had compelled him?

Melinda was his best friend. He shared everything with her. Well, almost everything. There was one thing he could never say - one thing he had to keep to himself above all cost. It was the one thing that could destroy their friendship in an instant. The professor possessed feelings for Melinda he could never express, because in doing so, he could destroy everything.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

When Rick arrived at home after a long day at work and an even longer evening with Melinda, he found Kate crying in the den. "Kate, what is it?" he asked.

Kate's head was downcast as silent tears dampened her cheeks. "Rick, you forgot. You forgot again. You were with HER," she said to him accusingly.

"What? What did I forget? And what do you mean ... I was with her?"

"You were going to spend the evening with me. You promised... But instead, you were with Melinda. Who knows what you were doing."

"We were working," Rick insisted. "And I didn't know you wanted to spend the evening with me. Kate, every time we are together, all you can talk about is the baby you are hoping we have."

"But you want a baby, too. Don't you?"

"Kate, what I want most of all is you. You know how selfish I can be."

"We've been trying for a baby for months now. My heart is going to break if it doesn't happen soon. I NEED to have a baby."

Rick looked into the pain-filled eyes of his wife and he heard himself making a promise he hoped he had the power to keep. "Kate, we'll have a baby, somehow, someway... even if we have to adopt. But I think I might have a better idea. How would you feel about surrogacy? Would you object to hiring a surrogate to carry our child?"

"Our child? How would it be our child if we hired a surrogate? I'm not producing eggs!"

"It would be our child. We'd hire just the right person. She would be carrying the baby for us, nothing more. It would be our child."

"What if she changed her mind at the last minute? What if she tried to take the baby?"

"She wouldn't do that. We wouldn't be hiring just anyone..."

"You already have someone in mind, don't you?" Kate asked.

"Maybe," Rick replied.

Before Kate asked any further questions he wasn't prepared to answer, Rick quickly left the room. Kate let out a heavy sigh as she watched him go. He spent far more time at his office and with Melinda than he ever spent with her.

~*~o~*~

When Melinda arrived home, she found Jim munching from a bag of potato chips while watching television. "Where ya been, Mel?" he asked, although he already knew. His wife was always ghost-hunting with Professor Rick Payne when she wasn't working at the antique shoppe. Jim's suggestions that they settle into their lives and have a baby were always rejected. Melinda didn't think she could juggle diapers and bottles, along with all the things that went bump in the night.

"Ohhh you know me," she said as she sunk down on the couch next to her handsome husband. She kissed his cheek as she settled into his arms.

Jim kissed the top of her head as she cuddled up against his chest. "It's my night off... so I was thinking..."

She gave him a mischievous smirk. "You're feeling frisky, aren't you?"

"I hardly ever get to spend any time with my wife... and I must admit, I'm feeling lonely. It would seem that lately you give all of your attention to Professor Payne."

"He's my best friend. I need his expertise."

"Are you sure that's all it is?"

"Of course, Jim. What else could it be?"

Jim stared into her eyes, but he didn't answer. It was obvious that he was jealous of her relationship with Rick. "Jim, he has a wife!" Melinda exclaimed.

"Ohhh alright," Jim said in a grumble. "I guess I am just being paranoid. I want you all to myself."

"You have me all to yourself. Tonight," Melinda said. "Let's go upstairs."

Jim looked eager, but something made him pause. "Wait, Melinda. About what we talked about earlier... you know, having a baby..."

"Jim, I told you I am not ready yet. I'm not ready to have a baby. I'm sorry."

Disappointment shone in Jim's eyes, but as usual, he tried to brush it aside. "I hope you're ready before we are grey and old."

"It will come in time," Melinda stated. "Just don't push me. I'm not ready... and it's making me feel uneasy when you keep bringing it up time and time again."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Jim. Let's just forget it for now, please," she said as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tender kiss. "Let's go upstairs. I want to show you how much I've missed you..."

"How can I refuse such a tempting offer?" Jim said as he gave her a long, passionate kiss. He then carried her upstairs and made slow, seductive love to her.

When it was over and Jim fell asleep in her arms, Melinda's mind began to wander. As usual, she found herself thinking of Rick. She could hear his laughter while reminded of his smile. Jim was right. She cared for more for the professor than she would ever care to admit.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"I am looking for something on malevolent spirits," Melinda said, breezing into the Professor's office.

"Well, hello," he said when she just barged in. He couldn't help how his eyes skimmed her body in a hot caress. She looked good in that sexy, low-cut blue dress. He stopped eating his Chinese food from the little carton the minute she stepped into his office. He suddenly lost all appetite for food. Other things were on his mind.

"Do you have any good books?" she asked as she was looking over his personal library.

"Of course I do. I have a few kinky ones. You want to borrow one?" he asked her with a little smirk.

"I don't think that would help me with my ghost problem," Melinda said.

"It always helps me with MY problem."

She turned to look at him. "I won't ask," she breathed. "Really though, do you have any books?"

He gestured over to his extensive library. "Be my guest. You do a favor for me; I'll do a favor for you."

"What kind of favor?" Melinda asked.

"I am looking for a surrogate mother," Rick stated. "Someone to carry my baby."

Melinda did a double-take. "What did you just say?" she asked breathlessly.

"Kate and I... we need a surrogate. She can't get pregnant. She's not producing eggs," Rick replied, although he'd already told her that Kate had infertility problems.

"Are you sure that's the route you'd like to go? A surrogate mom?"

"Yes."

"And what can I do to help?" asked Melinda.

"I want it to be you," he said.

"Me?" she asked flabbergasted. "I- me- you..."

"I am dead serious. I want you to get pregnant with my child," he said.

He stood up from his desk and walked across floor to stand only a few inches from her. "So what do you say, Melinda? Will you?"


	4. Chapter 4

***~*Chapter Four~*~**

Melinda wasn't saying a word. She looked totally speechless. Rick wanted her to say something; to shout out "No!" if she was completely turned off by his proposal, but all she could do was stare at him with a shocked expression.

"Melinda, talk to me," Rick prompted.

"I-I..." Melinda stumbled over the words. She was having a hard time expressing what she was feeling inside. The words seemed to be there somewhere, but she couldn't speak.

"Wow," she said softly. "I just never thought you'd ask me... something like this."

Rick really wanted her to carry his child?!

Thinking she was about to refuse him, Rick started to tell her all the reasons why he wanted it to be her. "You're my best friend. I trust you. I can watch out for you when you're pregnant, and I know you won't keep the child; you'll hand the baby over to me and Kate to raise when he or she is born," said Rick. "I'll give you time to think about this... and I... I won't pressure you. So, whatever time you need, please take it."

*Just don't say 'no',* he added silently.

*Ohhhh God! It's just... too much,* she couldn't help thinking.

Her mind was spinning. What was he asking? Could she do it? Could she really be inseminated with Rick's sperm? He was the professor. He was her best friend! He was her partner in all of her ghost-hunting schemes. But what he was proposing sounded so intimate. Suddenly it seemed like they weren't just best friends anymore. They were something entirely different. They were something... more.

She didn't know how to wrap her mind around any of this, but she knew she had to do it. She couldn't say 'no.'

"I'll do this," she said as the words just tumbled out of her mouth. She wanted to do this for Rick. She could feel the urgency deep inside. There was no way she could say "no."

A huge smile broke out on Rick's face and for a minute he was so happy, but then his smile suddenly faded. "Wait!" he gasped. "Won't you need to talk to your husband?"

She already knew that she would have to talk to Jim, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to do this for Rick... more than anything. "I will talk to him tonight, but don't worry. I will do this for you," she stated.  
>Stepping into his arms, she hugged him tightly. Wanting to stay there, she lingered in his embrace. She just did NOT want to leave his arms. Holding him felt so right.<p>

Rick didn't know what to say or do. Melinda was agreeing to do it, just like that? He had never expected such a quick answer. She hadn't even talked to her husband yet! He wondered what Jim would have to say about the idea. "Let me know," he said as he held Melinda close. He too did not want to let her go. If he could, he would hold her forever... but he couldn't. He had to return home to his wife. He had to talk to Kate.

"Why don't you call or come by tomorrow," he said as he eventually let her go. "After you've had a chance to talk to Jim."

He looked into her eyes as he left it at that. "Now let's see if I can find that book for you..." he murmured.

Something had changed when Melinda had agreed to be the surrogate. As of yet, Rick was unable to figure it out... but he loved a mystery. He was going to solve the one Melinda had presented to him. He just had to decipher all of the clues.


	5. Chapter 5

**~*~Chapter Five~*~**

Jim was worn out after a long day at work. He came home to the scent of delicious food cooking in the kitchen. He walked in to see that Melinda had prepared pasta, garlic bread, and salad. "Yum," he said. "Something smells good."

He snatched a piece of garlic bread off the platter on the table. "Delicious," he said after sampling a small bite. "You've really outdid yourself, honey."

"What's the special occasion?" he asked.

Melinda was laying things out on the table. She smiled as she was turning to go get the salad. "You're home!" she said. "I need to tell you something..."

"What's up?" asked Jim as he helped finish setting the table. He placed the forks on top of the napkins. He couldn't wait for the meal. Everything looked delicious.

"I had a conversation with Rick today. He and Kate are trying to have a baby. They are looking for a surrogate and he asked me," Melinda said. "I really want to help them." She was smiling and talking as her husband finished setting the table.

Jim stared at Melinda in disbelief. His mouth fell open in shock as she was speaking. "What the hell?" he gasped.

"Rick? You want to help HIM have a baby? You have got to be joking!" Jim cried out.

"Of course I want to help THEM have a baby," she said. "Kate AND Rick."

"No... no!" Jim argued. "There is no 'them'. It's Rick! You want to have a baby for Rick!"

With his face contorted with anger, he suddenly left the room. He stormed outside, slamming the front door behind him.

Melinda hurried outside after her husband. "Jim! Why are you getting so upset?" she asked in surprise. Rick was her best friend and she was going to help him and his wife. Which part of that plan wasn't clear to her husband?

"I can't believe you can ask me that!" Jim said when Melinda followed him outside onto the porch.

"For two years I have wanted a baby, and you always say 'no, now is a bad time,' but the minute Rick wants one, you are ready and willing. Why is that?" he demanded.

Melinda thought for a moment... as if unsure of how to answer, then she replied, "Rick is my best friend."

"Really? Is that all he is to you? Cuz you spend ALL your time with him, you want to have his baby, and you're never here with me."

"You're jealous!" Melinda exclaimed.

"Damn right I am. You're mine, Mel. And I won't share you with him!"

"I'm not sleeping with him," Melinda stated.

"I'm going to do this, Jim, with or without your blessing," she told him firmly.

"Just as I knew you would," he spoke unhappily.

~*~o~*~

Meanwhile at Rick's house, he had just told Kate the news that he may have found a surrogate. She was really happy until he mentioned that he had asked Melinda to be the one who would carry their child. "Not her!" Kate cried out.

"Why not?" asked Rick. "She wants to do this for us."

"She wants you, Rick. I can FEEL it," says Kate. "If she has the baby for us, we'll never be free of her!"

When Rick heard Kate's words, he realized at that moment why he had asked Melinda. He knew that that her carrying his child WOULD bond them for life... and he never did want to be free of her! He wanted to share that incredible bond with Melinda. He suddenly realized just how much he needed and craved it. Nothing Kate might do or say would make him change his mind.

"Kate, I know the thought of Melinda carrying the baby for us upsets you, but it's what I have to do. As long as Melinda agrees, we are going forward with it," Rick said firmly.

Kate stared at Rick in disbelief. She didn't tell him that the doctor had called earlier that day, giving her the news that she had one viable egg. It was an ideal time for her to try to get pregnant. Since all Rick cared about was Melinda, Kate decided to let the opportunity slide, even though it might be her only chance to ever have a child. With tear-filled eyes, she said quietly, "I am going out for the evening."

She said nothing more as she grabbed her purse and jacket. "Kate, where are you going?" Rick demanded as she walked toward the door.

"To see my best friend," she said sarcastically. Before Rick could retort, Kate slammed the door behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

**~*~Chapter Six~*~**

The next day, Rick showed up at the antique shoppe. He found Melinda standing behind the counter. "What did you decide?" he asked. "What did Jim say?"

Melinda was still kind of angry with Jim for the way that he had acted, especially since she had explained the entire situation to him and all of her reasons for wanting to help Rick and Kate. Even so, Jim had been less than understanding. He had been downright disgusted with the idea of her being the surrogate.

"He's just THRILLED with the idea," Melinda replied sarcastically.

Rick had a feeling that Melinda didn't mean it when she said Jim was thrilled. He had seen her rolling her eyes. "Kate's thrilled, too," he responded.

Melinda knew Rick well enough to know that his wife was hardly that thrilled, which meant that Kate's reaction was the same as Jim's. Rick looked angry more than anything, as if he wanted to do exactly the opposite of what Kate was wanting. The rebel in him was coming out.

"She hated the idea?" Melinda asked knowingly.

"With a passion," Rick responded.

He took a deep breath. "What should we do now?" Rick asked as he leaned over the counter and stared into Melinda's eyes.

"I say we still go through with it. They'll get used to the idea. Kate still wants a baby, right?"

Rick nodded. Kate had wanted a baby for months. There was no denying how much Kate had been wanting a child.

"But what about your husband?" he questioned.

"It's my body... and he's going to have to deal with it. It's only for nine months, right?"

"Right," answered Rick.

"Okay, so when should we make the arrangements at the fertility clinic? Your sperm is fine so we should..." Melinda spoke, but Rick interrupted.

"No fertility clinic," Rick said. "I am not sperming into a cup again."

"Are you suggesting I take a frozen spermcicle and insert it into my -?"

"No, I am suggesting we go away for the weekend and do it the old-fashioned way. You and me... on a very squeaky bed. We can tell Jim and Kate we are going out of town on a ghost hunt... and then we can ..."

"Ohhh my God!" Melinda gasped.

"I don't want my baby to be created in a laboratory, like some sort of mutant spawn. I want a normally-made kid!"

"If Jim or Kate ever found out...!"

"They won't," said Rick as he shot her a smoldering look. "We'll keep it top secret. So whattya say, do you want to go make a baby?"


	7. Chapter 7

***~*Chapter Seven~*~**

Rick just stood there, waiting for Melinda to answer his brazen question. When she didn't respond after a few seconds, he asked again, "Melinda, do you want to make a baby with me?"

Melinda had no idea what to say. It was as though no words would come out of her mouth. All she could think was, *Ohhh God. Ohhh God.* At that moment, she couldn't even THINK coherently.

She opened her mouth and then quickly she uttered, "Okay."

Melinda turned suddenly. She started to clean, dusting the shelves behind the counter. She lifted every object and dusted beneath each one. With her back to Rick, she didn't have to look at him. She was finding it hard to stare into his bright blue eyes when he had asked her to have his baby.

"Melinda," said Rick, trying to get her attention.

Rick cleared his throat, but still she didn't turn to face him. She continued dusting the items on the shelves. "'Okay'... is that all you can say?" Rick asked in a gasp.

"I'll do it, Rick. We can make the baby the old- fashioned way. Now will you please leave? You- looking at me... like THAT... it's causing me to..."

"Causing you to what?" asked Rick. She turned and glanced at him again, just for a split second. In that instant, his eyes penetrated deeply into hers. It was as if he were trying to read and interpret every single one of her innermost thoughts. What she saw in his gaze made Melinda want to bolt.

The way he was looking at her, with that deep, powerful gaze, Melinda found herself breathless. "Just GO!" she quickly insisted. "We can iron out the details later. I need to... I need to..."

Rick shook his head as if he, too, were trying to clear it. He was trying to think more clearly. "Okay, I will go then. Come by my office when you get off work. We can talk about it then," he offered.

She shot him a 'do we have to?' look, but he just grinned and turned away. After Rick walked out of the antique shoppe, Melinda thought to herself, *Ohhh my God, what have I just agreed to do?*

As she finished dusting the shelves, Melinda was feeling incredibly nervous and excited all at once. She just knew that doing this for Rick was what she HAD to do. There was no other choice... and she knew it. She was aware that this might be her only chance to be with Rick considering she was married to Jim. She was hoping that Kate and Jim never found out the particulars of how the baby was conceived. She did not want to hurt Jim, but she could not lose this chance to be with Rick. She tried to tell herself she was only doing this so Rick and Kate could have a baby to love, but she knew in her heart that that wasn't the exact reason. She knew she was doing this because she had feelings for Rick; feelings that went above and beyond friendship. Silently she prayed that she wasn't making a big mistake, because in her heart, it felt so right.


	8. Chapter 8

***~*Chapter Eight~*~**

It was the end of the day. Once again, Professor Rick Payne was glancing down at his wrist watch. He had been doing it all day.

It was well after 5 pm, and Melinda should be walking into his office at any moment. The wait had been hard on him. The professor wasn't a very patient man.

He was sitting at his computer, booking a reservation at a very comfortable Bed and Breakfast. "When will you be ovulating again?" he asked when Melinda finally came through the door.

"Can I sit down first?" she asked. Melinda sunk down into the nearest chair. She had been nervous as hell all day. For a moment she just breathed. She did not say a word.

Finally, she turned to look at Rick. "Ohhh I don't know. It's not really something I've been tracking," she said in response to his question.

"You can buy the little kits at the pharmacy... to test for ovulation. The problem is when you test, you only have about a 48 hour window of opportunity, so knowing that, I can't really reserve a bed and breakfast for us; not until you are absolutely sure that you are fertile," said Rick. "I guess we could always find a nearby hotel."

"That won't work... Jim and Kate are too close. They could find out," Melinda reminded him.

"Yes, we should definitely leave town," Rick agreed. "We could make up some sort of ghostly emergency."

"This is coming too easy for you...as though we've been having an affair all along."

"Is that what we are - having an affair?"

"I think so," she said as she nodded. "It's just so.. unexpected. I mean, I never expected to feel this way..."

"How do you feel?"

"I don't know," she said as she stared into his eyes. "But I like it. And I know it's what I have to do."

"If Jim and Kate find out..." said Rick.

"They won't," Melinda tried to reassure him. "We just have to be careful... and hope I get pregnant fast."

"How fast?"

"Really fast. The more we have sex, the more likely they are going to realize something is up."

"Something is up, Melinda." Rick glanced down at his pants.

"Behave yourself or I am gonna slap you," she warned.

"Maybe I am into that, too," he spoke with a smirk.


	9. Chapter 9

**~*~Chapter Nine~*~**

Ten days had passed since Melinda and Rick had decided to make the baby the old-fashioned way. Melinda had been doing the ovulation kits in secret, trying to keep them hidden from Jim. Lately she hadn't been arguing with Jim about her decision. In fact, Jim was seldom ever at home. They didn't even talk about it at all, but Jim hadn't been the same since she told him. He had been kind of distant, spending a lot of time at his job. Melinda tried not to let it get to her. She had other things on her mind. She was trying to get pregnant. She and Rick had a mission.

She was glad that Jim wasn't home. She was waiting on the result from the most current ovulation kit. She had just taken the test. She was really hoping the result would be positive. It was so hard to keep waiting.

When it was time to check the results, she walked over to find a positive result. She couldn't stop smiling; she had tell Rick right away! She had to go over to his house immediately; there wasn't any time to waste!

She only paused a second, carefully discarding the kit and hiding it at the bottom of the trash can so her husband wouldn't find it. She grabbed her purse, jumped in her vehicle, and sped on over to Rick's. He was home alone when she arrived at his door.

"Melinda," he said as he opened the door to her. "What a surprise!"

Melinda was all smiles as she stepped into the foyer. "Where's Kate?" she questioned.

"She's out having some fun with her imaginary best friend," Rick stated. Truthfully, he had no idea where his wife may have gone. Lately she had been spending a lot of time away. Rick was feeling lonely. He was so glad that Melinda had shown up at his door.

Melinda didn't ask; she proceeded to tell Rick her wonderful news. "I'm ovulating!" she practically screamed.

Rick stared at her in surprise. It took him a moment to recover. "That means we have 48 hours to make a baby," he said.

"Where shall we go?" he asked as he grabbed his coat. He was eager to get started.

The smile fell away from Melinda's face. "I don't know. How about your car?"

"Too small and too risky," he replied.

"How about upstairs... in your bed?"

"Bad idea. My wife might come home. Not a good idea for her to catch us doing the nasty."

"Your office?"

"Maybe. I could do you on the floor... or my desk... but I prefer a more comfortable place for our first time," he said as they walked out the door together. "We really should go out of town. At least for the night."

"You're probably right," Melinda agreed with reluctance. Like Rick, she was eager to get started.

"Want to run away with me for a couple of days?"

"YES!" she said happily. "Let me go home and pack a bag. Come and pick me up in about 45 minutes."

Before Rick could say anything, she threw her arms around him. She kissed him, full on the lips. The kiss lasted a full 45 seconds.

By the time Rick recovered enough to respond, Melinda was pulling away. He stared after her. He was totally stunned by the passion and intense heat in her sweet kiss. He felt as though he were about to explode... and he knew he would, once he had her naked and lying in his arms. He stood on the porch, watching with longing as Melinda drove away.


	10. Chapter 10

**~*~Chapter Ten~*~**

Rick and Melinda had arrived at a Bed and Breakfast several miles outside of Grandview. Rick felt confident that they were far enough away that they would not be found. They sat in Melinda's vehicle right outside the Bed and breakfast. Melinda had just left Jim a voice mail. She stated that she had to go out of town because her mother needed her.

"Don't worry, honey. I should be home in a couple of days," she spoke into the phone.

Rick sat in the passenger seat, holding his own cell phone. Now that Melinda had finished leaving her message for Jim, it was time for him to leave a similar voice-mail for Kate. He breathed a sigh of relief when his wife did not answer her phone. Apparently, she wasn't taking his calls.

"Hey, Kate, I just wanted to let you know that I had to go out of town for a couple of days. I am giving a speech at a nearby college," he lied.

Melinda had wrapped up her voice-mail to Jim. She slipped it back in her purse after closing it. She was waiting because she could hear Rick still leaving a message for Kate. "I will see you when I get back home," was how Rick ended the voice-mail.

"It's all settled then," Rick said as he looked into Melinda's eyes. "Let's go check out our room."

Melinda could feel butterflies fluttering in her tummy as Rick was holding her gaze. "Okay," she heard herself saying. Her hand reached toward the door handle to open it slowly. Once she had the door open, she slid out. She could feel her heart pounding in nervousness, although he hadn't even touched her yet.

Rick stood close to Melinda as they walked into the Bed and Breakfast together. It was an old Victorian house situated in a grove of sheltering evergreen trees. Melinda admired all the antiques as they stepped inside the lobby. Rick checked them in at the front desk. He took care of the bill as Melinda had a look around the spacious lobby. She was fascinated with all the furnishings and decorations.

"You don't sense any ghosts here, do you?" Rick asked as he came up behind her. He wrapped an arm around her waist.

She could feel his hot breath against her neck as he stood so close to her; so very close that she could feel his heartbeat against the flesh of her back.

"No... no ghost here, so I think we are safe," she managed to gasp. She didn't know how they were going to make it up to the room; she wanted him so badly.

Sensing her uncertainty as well as her urgency, Rick turned Melinda around in his embrace. His blue eyes blazed into her dark ones as he suggested, "I think we should go up to our room."

Not another word was spoken as he coaxed her gently up the steps toward the spacious rooms far above. Each step seemed to take forever as they climbed the polished wood of the stairs.

As she followed him, Melinda tried to focus on all of the details. "What about your job at the university?" she asked.

"I squared everything away with them before we left," replied Rick as they reached the top and rounded the corner to their room. "What about yours?"

He was putting the key into the lock and turning the knob as Melinda replied. "I own the shoppe. It can survive without me a couple of days. Delia can handle things in my absence."

Melinda tried to still her heart and focus on remaining calm. She was failing miserably. Her thoughts were a tangled mess as Rick stood before the door of their room.

The door opened for Rick who moved aside to let Melinda enter before him. He followed along behind her, gently closing the door. He took a quick glance around the room then his gaze settled on Melinda. He could sense as well as see her nervousness. It wasn't everyday that she sneaked away so she could have sex with someone who wasn't her husband. The gravity of what they were about to do should have weighed heavily on him, but strangely it did not. He felt completely at ease. He knew this was right. He needed Melinda; he was going to have her this night. They were going to do what they had set out to do. He knew it was fate.

"Melinda, don't be so nervous," he said as he approached her, a slight chuckle in his voice. He tried to ease her discomfort. "It's just me; your best friend."

He stared into her dark eyes, drinking in her beauty. Very slowly he reached out, his fingers resting ever so lightly upon her bosom... then, very slowly, he began to undo the tiny buttons which made up her bodice. As her cleavage became revealed to his eyes, Rick took in a deep breath, as though his lungs had been depleted of air.

"You mean the world to me," he said tenderly. "You know that, don't you?"

He realized then that he could never repay Melinda for the gift he was about to receive. She had selflessly agreed to give him a child... a child of her flesh. All along, Kate had been frantic in her desire for a baby, then when Melinda agreed to grant them that gift, the offer hadn't been good enough for Kate. Perhaps Kate would never accept the baby. Perhaps he would be raising the child all on his own. Whatever the case, he wouldn't let himself worry about that now. In this particular moment in time, all he could think about was Melinda; how beautiful she was and how much he wanted her. He wanted to create a new life with her. In his heart, the baby conceived always be theirs; his and Melinda's. It was hard to imagine the baby Melinda would carry ever belonging to Kate, his wife, for his heart was so bonded to Melinda's.

Staring into her dark eyes, Rick was lost. All thoughts of Kate and babies were swept away in a tidal wave of desire. There was only he and Melinda and their longing for each other. He wanted her as he wanted no other before.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked as he searched her eyes. He needed to know. He needed her to say the words.

The words fell from her lips like a passionate promise. "Yes, let's do this," she whispered. She too was breathless. When their lips met in a hungry kiss, she forgot her need for air. She only needed him, his chest pressed against hers as they kissed, their tongues twining together in a dance of love.

He lead her across the floor as they sunk on the bed together. Hungry kisses lead to love-swept touches. Their clothes fell away. Rick peeled them off piece by piece, drinking in Melinda's exquisite beauty. "I never thought I would have this with you," he whispered after spreading passionate kisses down her neck toward her amble breasts. He lay his cheek against a warm globe, hearing her heart pounding strongly in his ear.

"Thank you, Melinda... for what we are about to do... for what you are about to give me."

"You don't have thank me," she said in a murmur. "I want to be here. I want this, too."

"I don't think I can do this just once you know," he said his voice on the edge of a chuckle.

"I was kind of hoping since we'll be here all weekend, we could do it many times..."

"I like how you think," he said as he molded his lips around her nipple and began to suck. She closed her eyes as desire overtook her, blistering hot.

"Rick!" she gasped, pulling at his hair.

Rick was no where near finished with her. His lips explored her everywhere, suckling and tasting. His tongue teased her clit as he pushed her legs apart.

"Stop!" she cried out because it was almost too much; too much, too fast.

He looked disappointed as he slid back up her body, lightly kissing her lips. She could feel his rock-hard arousal against her thigh. "We have time for all that later," she whispered. "I just want you now. I want all of you... inside me."

"But you taste so good," he said, his voice sultry.

"You will have all of me... and I will have all of you," she promised.

Her fingers found him, wrapping around his throbbing length. "I want to make a baby with you," she said as she guided him to her entrance.

Rick almost lost his seed right there, hearing her words, feeling her soft caress, then the heated warmth of her silken channel. He began to sink into those depths. "You feel so good," he breathed before taking her mouth in another feverish kiss.

The passion was explosive as they began to move together in a dance of desire. With each downward thrust, Melinda arched up to meet him. Sweat poured off their bodies, soaking the sheets as they reached the highest summit of their passion. Rick spilled himself into Melinda in the same instant she was cumming. She cried out his name as he gave her so much pleasure.

After it was over, they held each other, Rick's head against her breast. "I want to do that again... only next time, more slowly..." he said as he heard her racing heart.

"We can do it as many times as you want to. As many times as you can..."

He chuckled. "I hear they serve a good breakfast here, too. You know how I like bacon and waffles."

"We might stop to get something to eat."

"That's good. I wouldn't want to starve you."

She gazed into those amazing blue eyes of his. "I feel like I have been starving for so long. Starving for you," she whispered.

He swallowed hard, hearing those words. "Melinda Gordon, you're in so much trouble."

His lips met hers again in another blazing kiss.


	11. Chapter 11

~*~Chapter Eleven~*~

Melinda had waited till Jim had gone to work. She had been feeling weird for days following her weekend with Rick. She was standing in the bathroom as she had just taken a pregnancy test.

She was waiting impatiently for the results. What if she was pregnant? What if she wasn't? Ohhhh God, what if she wasn't and that meant they had to try again? How was she going to handle another weekend of lust with Rick? Would he be willing to try again? What if they got caught in the act?

With all of those questions running through her head, Melinda wasn't properly watching the clock. When she glanced it again, she saw that it was time to check the test. Now was the moment of truth. Was she pregnant or not?

She picked up the little white stick, holding it in her trembling hand. There was a plus sign in the little window. No doubt about it; she was pregnant- with Rick's baby! "Ohhh God!" she gasped as she lay her hand on her stomach. Her belly was still flat... but soon it would be bursting with life. She was actually carrying a child! Rick's child!

She had to tell Rick! She couldn't waste another moment! She had to tell him NOW!

She carefully discarded the pregnancy test, then rushed out of the house. She was speeding over to the university. What would he do or say? She had barely spoken to him the past three weeks. She had purposely been avoiding him, because she could barely keep her hands off him; she wanted him so much! She knew she had to tell him the news, but part of her dreaded seeing him. She'd want him all over again... but he was off-limits. As she pulled up to the curb in front of the university, she lost her nerve. She wasn't thinking clearly. She placed her hand on her flat stomach as a fresh wave of nausea hit her.

"Damn!" she cursed as she drove away.

She ended up at the antique shoppe. She decided staying busy would take her mind off her dilemma. As she was working in the back room, she paused to talk to the baby. She placed a hand over her stomach as she said to the little one, "I know you're in there now. Your daddy is going to be so happy."

"Who are you talking to?" a voice asked.

Melinda looked up to see her assistant, Delia enter the room. She hadn't even heard her come into the shoppe. "No one!" Melinda quickly denied.

"Ohhh... one of your ghosts again," said Delia.

"Yeah, that's it," said Melinda. "Can you watch the store? I need to go over and talk to Rick."

"Sure," Delia agreed.

Delia didn't even get a chance to ask another question, although she tried. Melinda was far too quick. She grabbed her purse and hurried out of the shoppe. She barely even stopped to take a breath. She was in such a rush.

Melinda was huffing and puffing with exertion when she reached the university. She burst into Rick's office. He looked haggard as he slumped over his desk.

The professor hadn't been sleeping well. He had been missing Melinda. Sadly, he knew she'd been avoiding him. His wife was more distant than ever. Kate was hardly ever around. He knew his marriage was suffering.

He had been wondering if Melinda was pregnant. He was also wondering if she WAS pregnant, would he end up being a single father? Would Kate leave him?

As Melinda burst through the door, Rick was caught up in a memory. His mind was on that magical moment he had shared with Melinda at the bed and breakfast.

_"Melinda, you are going to get pregnant tonight. I am going to see to it," Rick said with a wicked grin._

_"I hope you are right," she said breathlessly in between kisses._

_He carried her to the bed where they made passionate love. They had only stopped to get a bite to eat._

_When the lovemaking ended, they are both lying there stunned. They were staring into each other's eyes. He couldn't believe how phenomenal it had been. He never wanted to leave Melinda's arms. He wanted to stay with her forever._

_*How will I ever let you go after two days?* Rick said to her in his mind._

_He pushed the thought aside as the urge came to make love again. He wanted to hear Melinda's screams. This time they made love for hours, exploring each other's bodies and bringing each other again and again to the heights of ecstasy. After the passion cooled, they fell fast asleep, cuddled in each other's arms._

Melinda walked in, looking radiant. She was practically glowing with so much vitality. Rick suddenly sat up, very alert at his desk.

"You're pregnant!" he exclaimed.

"We're pregnant!" she said happily.

She ran to him as he stood. Melinda threw herself into the comfort of the professor's arms. "I've missed you so much," she said as they held each other close.

"Why did you stay away?" he asked, sounding rather sad.

"I don't know... but I won't anymore. I can't. I need to be near you," she responded.

"I'm glad you're back," he said as he pulled back a bit and gazed into her eyes. His blue eyes were aglow with so much tenderness.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Amazing," she replied. "I can't believe it happened. We made a baby."

"That we did," he whispered. Rick knelt down, talking softly to his unborn child. He placed a tender caress upon Melinda's stomach.

"I'm going to be a daddy," he said in wonder. "I don't know what I am going to tell Kate."

"Do you think she'll be happy?"

Rick shrugged. He really wasn't sure anymore. All he knew was that HE was happy. Melinda was carrying his baby.


	12. Chapter 12

**~*~Chapter Twelve~*~**

Rick arrived home from work that night to tell Kate the news. "Honey, I am home," he said as he walked in the door. He didn't even pause to set his briefcase on the little table in the entryway as he went looking for his wife.

As he entered the dining room, he discovered that she had set up a candlelight dinner for two. As his eyes scanned the room, he noticed that Kate had prepared all of his favorite foods. He really wanted a roast beef sandwich, but before he could sit down to eat, he hoped to find out what Kate had been up to. Where had she been going lately? What had she been doing?

"Kate, what's going on?" he asked when she walked into the room.

"I have some awesome news for you," she said. "I am pregnant."

Hearing her words, Rick dropped his brief case out of his hand. It went crashing to the floor. He was staring at Kate in shock. "How... how..." he mumbled. "You said you weren't producing eggs. You said..."

"It's a miracle," she stated. "There was one viable egg..."

"But how... I mean, Kate, we haven't had sex, not since..."

"I know," she said quietly.

"Then how did you...? Did the doctors use some of my sperm at the fertility lab? Is that how you got pregnant?" he asked.

Kate shook her head. "Now... don't get angry, Rick... but you've been spending ALL of your time with Melinda. You were hardly ever here, even if I wanted to get pregnant. I had a very small window of opportunity, so I had no other choice but to take matters into my own hands."

"Ohhh my God, you cheated on me?" Rick said in a gasp.

Kate nodded. "Who... who was it?" he asked.

Kate refused to answer. The silence was burning at his ears. Rick asked another question. "How far along are you?"

"About six weeks."

Rick sunk down at the dining room table, stunned. This meant that Kate had slept with someone and had cheated on him before he had slept with Melinda. Their marriage was in shambles and he really didn't care anymore.

"What's the matter, Rick?" Kate demanded. "I thought you'd be happy. I mean... it was fine when Melinda was going to carry the baby. But now that it's not Melinda's, you don't want it anymore?"

"I can't do this," he said. "I am leaving."

"Are you going to Melinda?" she asked him accusingly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I know you've been sleeping with her. You've been sleeping with her ALL along," Kate accused.

"If that's what you want to believe," Rick responded, totally drained. "We can't go on like this. I am packing up some of my things, and I am out of here. I am going to stay at the university... in my office."

"Fine!" she said in anger.

As he walked out of the room, she swiped her hand across the table, shattering all the dishes. They all went crashing to the floor.

~*~o~*~

Melinda found Jim standing in the living room. She tried to come up with the words. "Uhhh...can we talk?" she asked once she finally had his attention. She wondered if she could just spit out the words. Somehow, they didn't sound right. They fell off her tongue as she said she was pregnant.

"What?!" he gasped as he looked at her sharply. "I can't believe you did it... you went ahead with the insemination, without my consent!"

"Well, not exactly," Melinda said as she bit her lower lip.

"Not exactly? What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded. He looked as though he were about to explode.

"We used another method," Melinda said softly.

When she just looked at him, waiting for her words to sink in, Jim suddenly freaked out. "Ohhh! You mean you... ohhhh myyy God! Mel, you had sex with Professor Payne?!" he asked in a gasp.

"I'm sorry!" she cried out... but truly she wasn't. She didn't regret the baby or one moment she had spent with Rick. It had felt so right. She realized in that moment that she loved him... or maybe she had been in love with him all along.

How would she ever tell him? He and his wife wanted the baby... but Melinda wanted Rick... and the baby, too! She was already bonding with the child and it wasn't even born. It was a part of her. "What am I going to do?" she asked, not really to Jim, but to herself.

"Why don't you ask your baby-daddy?" Jim shouted with jealousy. "I can't even look at you right now. I can't believe you slept with HIM!"

"I'm sorry I hurt you, Jim. I didn't mean..."

"Sorry isn't enough. It's over, Mel. I can't live like this... always being second best to ... to... your BEST friend." Jim said angrily. "You and he deserve each other."

He stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Watching him go, Melinda realized she should be upset and crying, but all she felt was a sudden and blessed relief. Her husband was gone. And she had told him the truth. Now she had to talk to Rick. He deserved the truth, too. It was time that she told him everything...


	13. Chapter 13

**~*~Chapter Thirteen~*~**

After Jim left, Melinda didn't waste a moment. She hurried to the phone and called Rick. "I need to see you," she said. "It's urgent."

"What's this about?" asked Rick. He had just gotten settled into his office after leaving Kate. He was relaxing on his very short couch, attempting to keep his mind off his cheating wife. As he spoke on the phone with Melinda, he was clutching a book about dark spirits in his hand.

"It's about the baby," Melinda answered.

Rick suddenly rose up off the couch. "Is something wrong?" he asked with worry.

"Everything's fine," she assured him. "Just meet me at the antique shoppe so we can talk."

~*~o~*~

Not even fifteen minutes later, Professor Payne arrived at Melinda's place of business. "What's going on?" he asked as he walked into the shoppe.

Melinda's eyes landed on his. Her hand was resting against her stomach. She could feel the tiny life growing inside her, a part of her forevermore. Looking at Rick's face, she knew she couldn't give the baby up. She wanted to keep her precious baby girl.

_"It's a girl," said the doctor as he held up the wriggling infant in the delivery room._

_Melinda's face brightened as she gazed at the precious baby. She had Rick's blue eyes and Melinda's dark-brown hair. She was absolutely perfect!_

_Rick was there. He was beaming when he saw the baby. Melinda reached out eagerly to hold the child, but other hands had settled on the baby._

_It was Kate! She was holding Melinda's daughter. "Ohhh Rick," said Kate. "She's everything I ever wanted!"_

_Kate was cuddling the baby as Rick stood at her side, gazing down at the infant in wonder. "Let's take our daughter home," said Rick as his lips lowered onto Kate's._

_*I can't do it! I can't give her up!* Melinda was inwardly screaming, but no one seemed to hear her._

_She was powerless as they walked away with the baby... HER baby! _

"Melinda," Rick said, bringing her out of her silent reverie. She shook her head slowly, trying to clear it.

"I can't do it, Rick," she said. She stated the words clearly as she had been unable to in the unwelcome daydream. She waited for Rick to speak. A blank expression had settled on his face.

"I can't give up this baby. I want to keep her," she told him.

"Her?"

"I sense it's a girl," she said as her hand continued resting lovingly upon her flat stomach.

"Okay. If you really want to keep the baby, I can't make you give it up."

"Really?" she said in surprise. "But what about you and Kate?"

"There isn't a me-and-Kate. She cheated on me... and she's having a kid with someone else," Rick revealed.

"You're kidding!" Melinda gasped.

"Does that sound like something I'd just make up? She cheated... and she's pregnant. We're over."

"But you cheated, too."

"I know. More reason for Kate and me to be over. How did Jim take the news ... that you're pregnant?"

"Not well at all," Melinda responded. "He left me."

"WHAT?"

"He's very upset. I- I told him everything."

"WHAT?" Rick said again.

"He knows about us. I had to tell him. I had to be honest," she said. "And I had to be honest with myself. It's you I want, Rick. You and this baby. I NEED you."

Rick just stood there, staring at her in disbelief. Now it was his turn to be speechless.


	14. Chapter 14

~*~Chapter Fourteen~*~

Finally Rick took hold of his senses. "Melinda," he spoke, as he drew her into his embrace. "I thought I would never hear you say those words..."

He pulled back slightly from their embrace, gazing down at her with his gorgeous blue eyes.

She didn't know that sharing this moment with Rick would make her heart sing, "It's true. I am in love with you, Rick," she stated. "I have been feeling this way for such a long time, but I was trying to block it out, because you were with Kate..." The words left her lips as she looked back at him.

She continued, "...and I was with Jim. But now I know for sure how I feel; I am certain... and I don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you either," he said breathlessly. "I have been in love with you since the first moment I met you. I wanted you for myself, but you already belonged to Jim. I was with Kate, so I thought we'd never be together."

"I guess this baby brought us together," said Melinda as she once again placed her hand on her stomach.

"Our little lullaby," said Rick with pride in his eyes.

"She's OURS," she said happily.

"What will we name her?"

"I don't know what we'll name her. I never imagined I would be this happy to be a mom. But with you, I know it's going to be wonderful. We are going to be parents."

"I can't wait," said Rick as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her with so much pent-up passion. He would never have to hold it back again. It was all for Melinda and it was white-hot.

*I am in love with Professor Rick Payne,* Melinda was thinking. *And I couldn't be happier.*

THE END

Author's Note: A huge thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this fanfic. I had a lot of fun writing it. I truly love the pairing of Melinda and Rick! I have ideas for a sequel. Would anyone like to read it? Not sure when I will find time to write it, but it's in the works. Does anyone have any great name ideas for Rick and Melinda's baby?


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